Disclaimer: Nope.
Characters: Bellatrix, Andromeda, Narcissa
Genre: Family/Friendship
The Black sisters had always known they were different. One look at each other proved that much; Bellatrix, with her heavy-lidded eyes, ebony tresses, and dark beauty; Andromeda, with her strong chin, kind eyes, and soft brown, almost red hair; and Narcissa, with her delicate features, laughing blue eyes, and shining gold locks.
Everyone noticed and remarked upon these differences. Some went so far as to question the fidelity of their mother, Druella, to her husband. Cygnus, their father, laughed this off as the rubbish it was. Their marriage had been an arranged one, it was true. However, over the years they had grown to respect—maybe even love—each other.
Cygnus's sister, Walburga, offered another explanation one day.
"You know what this means, don't you, Cygnus? There's a Metamorphmagus brewing in your line. This is just what the family needs now to regain our glory. You'll have suitors on your doorstep, day and night, wanting to be the sire of the next Metamorphmagus, you realize? You'll have the pick of the best families in England—perhaps even further than that."
Cygnus didn't reply, but it didn't matter since Bellatrix, who had been listening at the door, had already rushed away to tell her sisters.
"A Metamorphmagus!" Meda exclaimed, bouncing on her bed before jumping up to go to her older sister. "Wow! I hope Auntie is right."
"What's a Met–Meta—" Cissy stopped, pouting when she couldn't say the word correctly. It was, after all, a difficult word for a six year old.
Exchanging a glance, the older and wiser sisters explained that it was someone who could change the way they looked whenever they wanted and in any way they wanted.
"Oh," Narcissa's eyes widened. Then the pout returned, "I wish I could do that."
Bella laughed, going to capture her youngest sister's face. "Why on earth would you want to change the way you look, Cissy? You're perfect the way you are."
Andromeda couldn't help but feel the sting of jealousy, watching her sisters. They were the pretty ones. Everyone said so. She was just regular old Andromeda.
"I wonder which one of us will have it?" she asked, glad when her sisters' attentions were back on her.
"Maybe we'll all have one!" Narcissa giggled.
Andromeda and Bellatrix exchanged a look, knowing this was unlikely.
"Whoever has it, it will make Mama and Papa so proud, won't it?" Bella grinned at her sisters, and they grinned back.
Meda couldn't help but hope that it would be her.
When the time came for Bella to go off to Hogwarts, the younger sisters were excited for their sister, but sad that they couldn't go as well.
"Don't worry," Bella whispered as they shared a hug on Platform 9¾, "I'll tell you all about it when I come home at Christmas."
She kept her promise, telling her sisters all about the castle, the lessons and teachers, the other students, and the Sorting.
"The stupid old hat wanted to put me in Hufflepuff, can you imagine? I managed to convince it to put me in Slytherin, though. Hufflepuff. How embarrassing!"
Soon enough, it was Andromeda's turn.
"Well, it offered me the choice of Ravenclaw or Slytherin. I chose Slytherin, of course. Why go for the second best when you can have the best, right? I can only imagine what Mama would have said if I hadn't."
When it was Narcissa's turn, she was nervous. Was she cunning enough? Ambitious? What would she do if the hat tried to put her in the wrong house? Would she be able to convince it otherwise, as her sisters had?
Meda's small wave and Bella's encouraging smile only served to make her more nervous.
"Black, Narcissa!" came the call.
Back straightening, she gathered her courage and stepped forward with all the dignity of a pure-blood lady. She took her seat, folding her hands primly into her robes as she waited for the elderly professor to place the hat onto her head.
Another Black, eh? it whispered into her mind. Well, let's have a look. Plenty of loyalty to your family, just like your eldest sister. I see a desire to protect the ones you love—very noble. A fair share of intelligence and cunning. A great potential for bravery, too. You'd do well in Gryffindor—
No! she thought, glad that the hat covered her eyes so no one could see her panic. Not Gryffindor. Slytherin, like my sisters—please!
I thought as much. I suppose you have the qualities for Slytherin—if you're sure? Yes, yes, very well. In that case, it'd best be, "SLYTHERIN!"
Relieved beyond words, Narcissa hurried to the Slytherin table, where Meda greeted her with a hug and Bellatrix smiled at her again before returning her attention to her friends. Narcissa thought they seemed rather scary, but she was soon distracted by the rest of the Sorting, and then the spectacular meal that materialized in front of them.
Later, when they were alone, Narcissa told her sisters, after much hesitation, what the Sorting hat had said.
"Gryffindor!" Bella laughed in disbelief. "You? That hat really has lost whatever mind you could say it had. It's a good thing you talked it to its senses, Cissy."
Meda didn't react quite so strongly. "It's better than Hufflepuff," she teased, causing Bella to glare at her.
"Well, it doesn't matter now," Narcissa said quickly, wanting to head off any argument that might be brewing. The sisters were still very close, but Andromeda and Bellatrix had been arguing more and more lately, and Narcissa didn't like it. "We're all Slytherins now, aren't we?"
"Yeah—the Slytherin Sisters," Meda smiled, though it seemed strained.
"The Slytherin Sisters," Bella and Cissy echoed.
A/N: As I said in the summary, this "story" will be a collection of one-shots. Some might become related to each other, some will be vastly different—however they will all revolve around a Slytherin character. It can be considered "complete" at any time. Each chapter will (hopefully) be a story in itself. This will be updated whenever inspiration strikes, or when I have writer's block and have to write something. The character(s) each chapter is about will be put plainly at the top along with the genre(s), and the character settings/genres will change to reflect the most recent chapter. I hope that makes sense to everyone.